The South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Post Office is
delighted to celebrate the 90th Birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth
II on 21 April 2016 with the release of 4 stamps and a souvenir sheet.

Her Majesty celebrates two birthdays each year, her actual birthday and
her official birthday on a Saturday in June. Official celebrations to
mark a Sovereign’s birthday have often been held on another day in the
summer to ensure good weather for the ‘Trooping the Colour’ Parade, also
known as the Birthday Parade.

The Queen usually spends her actual birthday privately, but as 2016 is
such a milestone birthday The Queen and Members of the Royal Family will
attend a pageant celebrating The Queen’s life to be held at Home Park in
Windsor Castle in May, a thanksgiving service held at St Paul’s
Cathedral on 10 June as well as the Queen’s Birthday Parade on Horse
Guards Parade on 11 June.

Last year Her Majesty became Britain’s longest reigning monarch and both
as Princess and Queen she has presented the world with 90 Years of Style.

During the war and post war years when austerity and rationing lingered
across the land she was famously thrifty, wearing hand-me-downs, her
mother’s re-worked clothes and off the peg outfits. One of her most
famous outfits was of course the dress for her wedding in 1947. This
wedding was perhaps the start of royal wedding fever, yet just like
everyone else in 1947 the Princess Elizabeth had to fund the material
for the dress with clothing ration coupons, although the Government
kindly allowed her 200 extra coupons! Famously, people sent in their own
coupons to help the Princess out, but they were sent back with a note of
thanks as it was illegal for her to use them.

Happily times improved and mostly she has worn couture. The years of
immaculate style demonstrate that whilst Her Majesty may not be
interested in high fashion she is most certainly interested in clothes
and impeccable style.

In June 1953, 27 year-old Princess Elizabeth ascended to the throne and
became the Queen of England and ruler of much of the free world. With
the help of two couturiers in particular, Sir Norman Hartnell and Sir
Hardy Amies, her wardrobe conveyed an image of a stately world leader.
At the time she favoured fairy-tale ball-gowns, or stiff satin frocks,
shimmering with beads in patterns designed to emphasise her status.
Norman Hartnell, a favourite of her mother and grandmother, created both
her wedding dress and her Coronation gown. He specialised in the
fabulous evening-gowns that she wore to glamourous state occasions,
while Amies primarily took care of Her Majesty's daytime wardrobe.

In 1953 Her Majesty embarked on her first tour of the Commonwealth and
took with her more than 100 specially made outfits. Since then she has
made hundreds of Commonwealth and State visits. The Queen requires more
clothes in a year than most of us do in a lifetime and four or five
changes in a day are not unusual.

To this day the Queen remains the centre of attention wherever she goes
and is subject to critical assessment every time she appears in public.
The pressure of such scrutiny must be phenomenal yet there has never
been a wardrobe malfunction nor a fashion faux pas. Her impeccable style
has ensured her place as an icon of fashion.

80p The Queen leaving a banquet during her Commonwealth visit to
Australia, 1954. Fox Photos/gettyimages.

90p The Queen wears a slim-fitting white lace dress to a garden party in
Sydney, Australia, before leaving for Tasmania on the liner 'SS Gothic',
February 1954. Her hat is of black tulle with three feathers.
Keystone/gettyimages.

£1.25 The Queen leaves the Christmas Day Service at Sandringham Church
in 2014.

Chris Jackson/gettyimages.

S/S Border: The Queen attends the BQIPCO British Champions Day 2014 at
Ascot Racecourse. Miles Willis/gettyimages.